Shootout Lifts Spirits of Fans, Sick Children : Golf: Bringing top players together for charity event at Sherwood Country Club serves a dual purpose.

What is the Shark Shootout?

For thousands of sick children it is another ray of hope.

For thousands of local golf fans it is a fantasy tournament.

And for the pro golfers, it is perhaps the humor highlight of the year as the pressure of the 45-week season has ended.

Example: Last Saturday at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Arnold Palmer, a straw hat bent at the edges and tugged down over his ears, squatted behind a 10-foot putt and tried to read the line to the cup. “Anything unusual here,” Palmer asked his playing partner, Peter Jacobsen, hoping to get a second opinion on the tricky putt.

“Nothing, except your hat,” Jacobsen barked, and the gallery within earshot roared in laughter.

For all involved, then, the announcement Sunday that Greg Norman’s Shark Shootout, benefiting Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities, would return to Sherwood for at least two more years was welcome news.

“When I thought this up three years ago, I honestly never dreamed it could be this good,” said Norman, the founder of the event. “I thought we’d get some of the guys to play, but not all of them, because it’s the end of the year and they’re tired from playing the (PGA) Tour. But they all want to play. They start asking me about it very early in the year.

“And I thought we’d get some fan support, but with the ticket structure (weeklong tickets only are $200 each) I didn’t know what kind of response we’d get. But we sell all 5,000 of them each year and people ask for more.”

But the greatest pleasure, Norman said, is seeing the joy in the eyes of the children who the tournament has helped, children afflicted with cancer and other diseases.

“I know it would help,” Norman said. “I knew from the start that any good we could do for these kids would be great. But I never imagined how much it can help. I never imagined meeting these kids and seeing their eyes light up and seeing them smile. I never imagined the effect that would have on me.”

The tournament has raised more than $2.3 million for children’s charities in its three years, according to Norman and Sherwood owner David Murdock. Before the new two-year contract was signed over the weekend, the greatest debate among Norman and other tournament organizers was the ticket structure.

“That’s the one area that sometimes bothers me,” said Norman. “We want to raise as much money as we can. That’s the main idea of the tournament. But I feel bad that the set-up leaves out a lot of people who would ordinarily come and watch. If we open it up to larger crowds and offer daily tickets, where do we stop? This course can’t handle 20,000 spectators. So even then, some people are going to be angry.

“It seems we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.”

For the players invited to the elite event, the tournament has become very important.

“It’s first-class,” Lanny Wadkins said. “There’s nothing about this tournament that isn’t just about perfect. It just seems to get better and better each year.”

Wadkins, of course, had good reason to be thrilled by this year’s tournament. He won it, along with partner Tom Purtzer. Each earned $125,000 for the victory.

But even the non-winners said being invited back next year is very important. Norman selects the top five available players on the year’s official money list, the top 10 available career PGA Tour money winners, and five others deemed worthy--Palmer and Chi Chi Rodriguez topped that list this year.

With Norman, Jack Nicklaus--who designed the Sherwood course--Palmer, Rodriguez, Raymond Floyd, Ben Crenshaw and other PGA stars engaged in serious (there is a lot of money at stake for them) but also light-hearted combat for three days, the spectators get the usual menu of outstanding golf but also get the added bonus of laughter.

“I followed Chi Chi around for two days,” said Philip Ferraro of Van Nuys, “and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much. Every minute he stops and tells a joke, walks over to the ropes to talk to the people, making fun of people’s clothes. And then he’ll step away and hit a great golf shot and come right back to talk some more.

“It’s a highlight of the year for me.”

And for Norman too.

“It just gets better and better,” he said. “Everything has gone so well. I truly expect we’ll be back here for many years to come. If nothing else, I’d keep doing this just because of the reaction by the kids who we are trying to help. They’ve sent me cards and letters, bunches of them.

“To get those cards and letters thanking us, things in their own handwriting--and you can tell that it’s hard for some of these kids to write--well, that just gets to you. Those cards and letters I keep at home. Those are the real rewards for all of this.”